Shivraj Patil and Sonia Gandhi survey the flood-hit areas and express satisfaction over distribution of relief material and medicines.

As home minister Shivraj Patil and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi took an Air Force plane for an aerial survey of flood-hit areas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh picked up the phone to promise central assistance for people in Bihar and elsewhere.

A PMO spokesman said Singh took stock of the situation and assured people living in flood-affected areas of all help. The Prime Minister made this point in his conversation with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Sonia and Patil surveyed flood-hit districts of Assam and Bihar and expressed satisfaction over distribution of relief material and medicines in Assam.

In Bihar, Patil hinted that the government had failed to tackle the situation properly. “All the flood victims we met complained there was no relief worth the name. The situation is really abysmal,” he said.